Productivity- a term at the core of every business, yet so often misunderstood. At its simplest definition, productivity means how much you produce for a given input. This measurement is particularly important for startups- as resources are limited and the stakes are high to perform.
One thing is for certain when it comes to productivity: it’s at the core of competitiveness both at the micro and macro economic levels. It’s also luckily on the way up in many places around the world, including the US where productivity increased 3.6% in the last quarter alone. While this is good news, there’s no guarantee that startups and small businesses will see these increases without a significant amount of work.
What is Productivity Anyway?
Team productivity has several interlocking and important components- employee satisfaction with compensation, having the right tools to complete a given task, employee engagement and overall motivation, and team dynamics. Each of these components in and of itself are multi-faceted and have quite a lot of research behind them.
Speaking of team productivity, however, perhaps the most important aspects involve how well a team communicates, collaborates, and generally feels working together- i.e. team dynamics. If you are able to strike the right team dynamics, which is certainly different for every startup or small business, then you will subsequently see significant increases in productivity.
Why does it Matter?
In short, increasing productivity can lead to increased revenue and overall competitiveness for your startup or small business. Your number one asset is your workforce, particularly when initially setting out with limited financial resources, so logically ensuring that they work efficiently together is the best way to give your business an edge on the competition.
More concretely, higher productivity can lead to lower costs (achieving more for less money) and these savings can be invested in turn in other areas, including:
- Research and development
- Employee wages and bonuses
- Lower-priced goods for customers
- Investment in business infrastructure
With these numerous benefits from productivity, the next logical question is what can you do to increase it in your team? Read on for some straight-forward tips.
Productivity Tips for Teams
Get to Know the Team
The human element is at the center of all teamwork. How well team members know and trust each other can directly influence how efficiently they work together. That’s why it’s important to take the time to get to know your team, and facilitate their process of getting to know each other.
This can be done in several ways, from formal facilitated team building events that aim to challenge your team members to work together and bond outside of the workplace, to the practice of asking team members to share something from their personal lives at the start of each team meeting. The approaches are numerous, so choose one that best fits your team’s unique character.
Set Clear Expectations
Misunderstandings and miscommunication can lead to significant decreases in a team’s productivity. That’s why it’s so important to set clear team expectations from the beginning, and find ways to constantly reinforce them. In fact, clear employee expectations are one of the foundational elements of overall employee engagement.
Ensure that every team member knows what his or her role is, what workflows they are responsible for, and in what way they should communicate with other team members. This will keep them engaged and on task.
Set a Clear Vision
In order to work more efficiently, it’s crucial that your team knows where it’s ultimately going. This is especially true for startups, as a clear team vision can be one of your best assets, and successful entrepreneurs are most always clear visionaries.
Are you trying to become a market leader in your industry, or perhaps provide the best rated to service to customers in your sector? If your team is clear on the ultimate outcome of their work they will be more motivated, as they understand how they’re contributing to something bigger than their daily tasks.
Setting a vision is even more effective when done together with your team. In this way, your team will feel a sense of ownership over your business’s success, increasing their motivation levels even more.
Give Team Members Ownership
There’s no better way to increase someone’s motivation, and ultimately productivity, than to give them ownership over a project. The feeling that comes with increased responsibility can significantly improve employee motivation. Of course increased ownership should be given responsibly, once team members are ready to take it.
Forcing team members who aren’t ready to take the lead can actually have the opposite effect, as they may feel unprepared and overwhelmed. Work with team members to help them gain the skills and experience necessary to take over more complicated tasks, and see productivity increase.
Choose the Right Collaboration Tool
The right collaboration infrastructure can set your team on the right path towards productivity, and is inevitably one of the early choices you will make as a startup. The ability to quickly communicate, transfer big files, and collaborate on projects are just some of the things a team collaboration tool can help you with.
Choosing the right tool, of course, isn’t always a simple affair. Given the abundance of options on the market, it could be quite overwhelming to make a choice for your team. Consider first what types of functions and features are crucial for your team, and then take the time to research.
Of course a tool is only useful if your team will actually use it, so make sure that your team members have a say in the choice as well. In this way you will increase the chances that they will use it actively, thus boosting your team’s productivity.
Final Thoughts
Productivity is a key element of any startup or small business’s success. In a limited-resource environment the importance of a high-performing team is abundantly clear. Providing your team with the right working environment, interpersonal relationships and tools is the best way to ensure that they are working as an effective and efficient unit, setting you apart from the competition.
